Vol. 189 No. 9
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More Stories from the April 30, 2016 issue

  1. Animals

    Female burying beetle uses chemical cue to douse love life

    While raising their young, burying beetle mothers produce a chemical compound that limits their male partner’s desire to mate.

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  2. Neuroscience

    Brain holds more than one road to fear

    A study on rare patients suggests that fear can take many paths through the brain.

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  3. Astronomy

    Companion star could have triggered supernova

    An exploding star in another galaxy might have been pushed over the edge by a stellar companion.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    Cancer killers send signal of success

    Newly designed nanoparticles deliver anticancer drugs and updates on tumor death.

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  5. Earth

    Quake risk in parts of central U.S. as high as in fault-filled California

    A new report from the U.S. Geological Survey shows an increased earthquake hazard from human activities such as the disposal of fracking wastewater.

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  6. Astronomy

    Earth’s hurricanes have nothing on this quasar

    In a remote galaxy, a cosmic hurricane around a supermassive black hole is driving winds at nearly 20 percent of the speed of light.

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  7. Animals

    Climate change now bigger menace than forest loss for snowshoe hares

    Shorter snow seasons push climate change ahead of direct habitat loss as menace for Wisconsin snowshoe hares.

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  8. Anthropology

    Hobbits died out earlier than thought

    Tiny Indonesian hominids disappeared earlier than thought, around 50,000 years ago.

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  9. Archaeology

    Ancient Assyrians buried their dead with turtles

    Why did ancient Assyrians bury their dead with turtles? The reptiles may have served as symbolic protectors of the dead.

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  10. Astronomy

    Odd white dwarf found with mostly oxygen atmosphere

    A white dwarf that has been stripped of its hydrogen and helium provides a rare peek inside the core of a dead massive star.

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  11. Neuroscience

    Nerve cell links severed in early stages of Alzheimer’s

    Nerve cell connections may be trimmed too much in early stages of Alzheimer’s.

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  12. Life

    Zika structure mapped for first time

    The newly solved structure of Zika offers scientists clues on how to combat the virus.

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  13. Physics

    Faint gravitational waves could soon be on LIGO’s radar

    In a few years, LIGO could detect hints of faint gravitational waves from black holes too far away to be seen directly.

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  14. Psychology

    Marijuana use starting in youth implicated in financial woes

    Long-term, heavy pot smoking linked to financial troubles by age 38.

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  15. Neuroscience

    Forgetting can be hard work for your brain

    It can take more work to forget something than to remember it.

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  16. Neuroscience

    Hippocampus makes maps of social space, too

    The hippocampus is a multitalented mapmaker.

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  17. Climate

    Sea levels could rise twice as fast as previously predicted

    Sea level rise from Antarctica’s melting ice could accelerate faster and sooner than previously thought.

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  18. Neuroscience

    Lip-readers ‘hear’ silent words

    Lipreading prompts activity in the brain’s listening area.

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  19. Astronomy

    Key sugar needed for life could have formed in space

    Sugar that forms backbone of cell machinery can form on icy grains blasted by ultraviolet light from young stars.

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  20. Earth

    Most diamonds share a common origin story

    Most diamonds form from fluids deep inside Earth’s interior that contain carbonate compounds, new research suggests.

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  21. Agriculture

    Bacterium still a major source of crop pesticide

    Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria have provided pest-fighting toxins for over 50 years.

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  22. Animals

    Cave-dwelling salamander comes pigmented and pale

    Something’s funny in the family tree of pale, slinky cave salamanders.

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  23. Science & Society

    Humans have pondered aliens since medieval times

    People have been fascinated with extraterrestrials for centuries. If only aliens would get in touch.

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  24. Animals

    Lethal bat disease moves west

    For the first time, the bat-killing white-nose syndrome shows up west of the Rockies.

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  25. Health & Medicine

    Machine makes drugs on demand

    A new drug-making system rapidly produces a variety of medications on demand.

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  26. Animals

    Ancient snake wore green

    Scientists have reconstructed the skin coloration of a fossilized snake that’s about 10 million years old.

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  27. Animals

    Cyborg beetles walk the walk

    New beetle biobots come with speed and gait control.

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  28. Animals

    Ant antennae provide chemical ID

    Ants use their antennae to identify nest-mates and potential invaders. But antennae also produce the key compounds that ants use to tell friend from foe.

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